BHOPAL/Senior IAS officer Ashok Barnwal was on Wednesday appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, hours after incumbent Anurag Jain was named the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The General Administration Department (GAD) issued the appointment order late in the evening.
After the GAD issued the appointment order, Barnwal met Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at his official residence late on Wednesday evening.
A 1991-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Barnwal has been appointed the Chief Secretary until further orders. He succeeds Anurag Jain, a 1989-batch IAS officer, who has been elevated to head the Centre’s premier public policy think tank.
Before his appointment, Barnwal was serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Public Health and Medical Education Department. He also held additional charge of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department and served as Commissioner, Food Safety, Madhya Pradesh.
An engineer by training, Barnwal is regarded as an experienced administrator with a long career in the state bureaucracy. Over the years, he has served in key departments, including forests, health, cooperation, environment and agriculture, besides holding district-level assignments as Collector in districts such as Guna, Shahdol and Dewas.
The appointment marks a significant bureaucratic transition in Madhya Pradesh, with the state’s top administrative post changing hands following Jain’s move to the Centre. Barnwal is expected to oversee the implementation of the Mohan Yadav government’s flagship programmes and major infrastructure and governance initiatives while ensuring administrative continuity.